Hi folks,
Picked up my brand new cooper on March the 1st. Over all I am incredably happy with the car. However, I have one niggle that I wanted to get some feedback on. I have seen posts about the new Getrag gearbox being notchy and stiff... presonally I don't have a problem with it at all. However....
Does anyone else think the 5th gear is really bad?
I find my self doing at least 3000 revs in 5th gear at 70mph. The engine is obviously working quite hard at these revs. Futher more, when you put your foot down at 70 mph (in 5th) you get a instant surge of power! Ok, this is great for performance.... but this is NOT an cruise gear?
I would expect a 5th gear ratio like this if you had an 6th gear, but the cooper hasn't!
I can imagine that long journeys on the motorway could get quite tiresome. I find myself in the daft position of having to "cruise" at 60 mph in the slow lane with the skoda Fabia's!
A 1.6 litre car pulling 3,000rpm in 5th at 70mph sounds about right to me. It's about in line with top gear on the old Midland Gears 'box. Do you have experience of 5 speed 1.6 cars with taller 5th gears than this?
It's fairly hilly where we live and a top gear taller than that would require downshifting on dual carriageway inclines and that would be a pain.
Tigger.
May '04 - Feb '07 R50, Feb '07 - May '10 R53. Enjoyed our time with MINI's, but ran out of space! Now Focus RS & Land Rover powered...
Have to say I find iit fine. I normally sit between 85-95 on the motorway and its fine, just recently did a 600 mile trip in the car and it was very smooth and quiet.
3000 revs is quite normal for the size of car though
I have driven 2 or 3 1.3L cars that seem to run quite fine at 2,500 rpm at 70mph in 5th (the fiesta being the one I have lots of experience with out of the 3)
This is not an MINI power issue... proved by the fact that you have a lot of instant power when you put your foot down a 70mph in 5th. The mini could cope at a lot lower revs at 70mph given the right gear ratio.
Also, I'm not quite sure waht you are suggesting but are you trying to say it is better to have a lower gear ratio in 5th just for those 2 minute hilly bits and therefore sacrafice fuel econamy and comfort / noise on long haul runs? That is just mad !!!
5th gear is supposed to be a cruise gear.... and yes that does mean when you reach a steep hill you supposed to change down a gear!
I agree with the 5 th gear can easily fool you into thinking there is a 6th gear waiting for you. However it does make motorway overtakes easy because 3000rpm is the point before the mini launches
I like the 5th gear on the new box. On the old midlands box at 70mph it would do about 2500RPM but there wasnt a great deal of instant power available. I like it that there is that little extra burst of power on new box and between 70 and 90mph the revs only vary by about 800 or so.
I find the difference between 4 and 5th not that great. I think i have been upto 90 in 4th so thats ideal for overtaking. In a way 5th seems a waste. I am sure if they sorted the ratios they could get 70mph to be at 2500rpm which would be great for the mpg you might get close to 60mpg if it was that.
Making the 5th gear ratio taller, and hence longer will not necessarily improve fuel economy. To overcome the large air resistance forces experienced at 70mph + requires a lot of torque which is fine at lower engine revolutions of turbo diesel cars; but places a great pressure on normally aspirated petrol engines at lower engine revolutions. If you are going to engineer a 'cruising gear' for fuel economy you need to take into account where the engine runs at its most efficient. I'm not hugely knowledgeable on the subject but I understand it lies where the power and torque curves cross - and therefore possibly with the mini 1.6 litre engine, this is quite high. But I could be wrong!
Just about every car I have diven by renault, ford, peugeot etc (of simular performance) has a decent cruise gear.... after all this is an 8 second car & not a 4 second WRX or EVO !!!
I strongly suspect that BMW have used EXACTLY the same gear box & ratios as the Cooper S with just the sixth gear missing?
Perhaps it is all to do with the Top Speed, which features so highly in press reviews. Perhaps if it was revving lower at 70mph, it would not pull the 120summitmph top speed!
I know my OneD is doing just under 2500rpm at 70, 2000rpm at 60mph, so 1000 revs per 30 mph. But in Top it will only pull just under 3500rpm at a top speed of circa 103mph.Only done this once. But peak torque is at 200rpm and power at 4000rpm. This probably doesn't help, as mine is the 6 speed derv. But does the Cooper reach the revs where peak power is in top, I presume high 5000 rpm?!
The AutoGuide.com network consists of the largest network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.
5th Gear? 
totally agree 
But I could be wrong! 
60 mpg from a cooper by changing 5 gear ratio slightly .... you should inform BMW 
